The Titans made a bold move this offseason when they sent T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets for Jermaine Johnson II, betting that a reunion with head coach Robert Saleh would help unlock the defensive end again. Two games into the season, that gamble has not paid off.
Johnson’s best football came under Saleh in 2023, when he broke out as a sophomore. Then came the torn Achilles in 2024, followed by a 2025 season with a different Jets coaching staff that never got him back to peak form. The early read is blunt: the injury may have taken away too much of his explosiveness.
What Tennessee is getting right now is not enough. Johnson has been the Titans’ least effective pass rusher, and if that doesn’t change, the team should stop leaning on him at the expense of Femi Oladejo and Keldric Faulk. Through Week 2, the numbers make the case pretty clearly.
Johnson has played more snaps than any other Titans defensive end, logging 93. Jacob Martin has been his closest companion in the rotation at 80 snaps, while Faulk has been on the field for 39 and Oladejo for 36. That gap is hard to ignore, especially when the production hasn’t matched the workload.
Among Tennessee’s four defensive ends, Johnson owns the lowest pass-rushing grade at 43.6 from Pro Football Focus. That mark is also the worst on the entire defense. Martin has already produced more pressures, 8 to Johnson’s 6, and Johnson still hasn’t gotten home for a sack.
The pass-rush win rate tells the same story. Johnson’s 2.1% is far behind Faulk’s 6.7%, Oladejo’s 8.3%, and Martin’s 10.4%. Every meaningful metric points in the same direction: Johnson has been Tennessee’s least productive edge rusher, and the tape backs that up.
That doesn’t mean Faulk is ready for a full-time jump just yet. The Titans are taking the rookie, the 31st overall pick, along slowly, and he entered the league with a reputation as a raw player out of Auburn. So far, his play hasn’t demanded a bigger role.
Oladejo is the cleaner answer. He’s been slightly behind Faulk in snaps, which is a little surprising given how he has looked in limited work. The sophomore is in an important season after looking raw as a rookie before a season-ending injury before the midway point.
Even in a limited sample, Oladejo has brought more life to the pass rush. He has recorded a quarterback pressure in each of Tennessee’s games and has also been credited with four tackles and four run stops. If that trend continues, the Titans need to start giving his snaps to Oladejo - and eventually to Faulk - instead of keeping Johnson in front of them.
In Other News...
Brian Daboll Sends Clear Message Before Titans Visit The Giants
Jaxson Darts season ended in painful fashion, and the injury only sharpens the attention around a Giants offense that had already made him the centerpiece of its future. The 2025 first-round pick started the 2026 season before the knee injury was confirmed by MRI, with damage to his MCL, PCL and meniscus ending his year and leaving New York to regroup without the quarterback it had built around.
Brian Daboll, now the Titans offensive coordinator and Darts former coach, has already made his feelings clear ahead of Tennessees trip to New York. He offered support and respect for Dart after the injury, a reminder that this matchup carries a little extra personal weight even if the Titans are focused on their own side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Titans May Need Nicholas Singleton Sooner Than Anyone Expected
Nicholas Singleton got his first taste of NFL action in Week 2, and it was a modest debut by any standard, with the rookie running back finishing with 10 yards on four carries. Still, the Titans did get a look at what he can offer in the backfield, and that matters now more than it did a week ago. Tennessee has leaned on a rotation of backs in its offense, and Singleton was already a player worth watching as the season unfolded.
His timeline may be moving up faster than expected. Injuries to veterans Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears have opened the door for Singleton to see a larger workload in Week 3 against the Giants, giving the Titans a possible next-man-up answer at a position that can change quickly. Even if his role grows gradually, this could be the kind of early-season opportunity that helps define how Tennessee handles its backfield moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Legend Chris Johnson Faces A Painful Question After Diagnosis
Chris Johnsons place in Titans history has always been secure, and this week brought a different kind of update for one of the franchises most electric players. The former Tennessee running back announced that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the news also pushed back his induction into the Titans Ring of Honor as he continues to deal with his health.
Johnson discussed the diagnosis with PEOPLE magazine and said doctors have not linked football as the cause of his ALS, but he believes the sport still deserves a closer look when it comes to the relationship between football-related trauma and neurological disease. For Tennessee, it adds a sobering note to what should have been a celebratory moment for a legend whose career still resonates deeply with the fan base. [Read more 🡒]